Yoke means



C. E. DATH YOKE MEANS June 24, 1930.

Filed Feb. 15, 1929 Patented .une 24, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEGIIARLES E. DA'TH, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIGNoR To W. H. MINER, INC.,or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A ooRPoRATIoN or DELAWARE YOKE MEANS Applicationiiled February 15, 1929. Serial No. 340,112.

This invention relates to improvements in yoke means for connecting thecoupler to the shock absorbing means of a railway draft rigging.

One object of the invention is to provide a simple and effective yokemeans for railway draft riggings, wherein means is provided forsupporting and properly guiding the same on the usual carry iron of theunderframe structure of the car, and further lli having means forsupporting and guiding the shank of the usual coupler to maintain thehorizontal position of the latter with respect to the shock absorbingmechanism and the coupler of the adjacent car.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a yoke having ahood member deiined by spaced side walls and spaced top and bottomwalls, adapted to accommodate the coupler shank therewithin, the couplershank being anchored to the yoke by the usual coupler key extendingthrough slots in the side walls of the hood, wherein the bottom wall ofthe hood is upwardly offset to provide a horizontal shelf or ledge ofrelatively large area above the main portion of the bottom wall forsupporting the coupler shank outwardly of the usual carry iron of theunderframe structure of the car, the offset portion of the bottom wallbeing provided with spaced, longitudinally eX- tending ribs, having thebottom edgeyfaces thereofaligned with the under surface ofV the bottomwall proper of the hood to cooperate with the carry iron and support andguide the yoke in a horizontal path, the main portion of the bottom wallbeing provided with an upstanding rib havingthe upper edge face thereofaligned with the upper surface of the offset portion or ledge ofthebottom wall to form therewith a continuous guide means for supportingand guiding the coupler shank in a horizontal direction.

Other and further objects of the invention will more clearly appear fromthe description and claims hereinafter following.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a sideelevational view of a yoke embodying my improvements,

the usual coupler being shown associated with the yoke, and the shockabsorbing and follower means being indicated in dotted lines Figure 2 isa top plan view of the yoke shown in Figure 1 with the coupler omitted.Figure 3 is a front end elevational view of the yoke shown in Figure 2.And Figure a is a vertical transverse sectional view, correspondingsubstantially to the line 4.-4 of Figure 1, with the coupler omitted.

In said drawings, the coupler, which is of standard dimensions anddesign, is indicated generally by the character 10; the same comprisesthe usual shank of substantially rectangular cross section, having thecoupler head 11 at the outer end thereof, the coupler head being onlypartly shown in Figure 1. The coupler shank is anchored to the yoke bythe usual coupler key 12 which extends transversely through the shank10.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a yoke member having top andbottom spaced, longitudinally extending arms 13-13 connected by avertical section 14 at one end, which is formed integral with the armsand cooperates with the inner end of a friction shell of a shockabsorbing mechanism, the friction shell being shown in dotted lines inFigure 1 and designated by the character 15. At the forward end, theyoke is provided with a hood member defined by spaced, longitudinallyextending vertical side walls 16--16 and spaced horizontal top andbottom walls 17 and 18.

As most clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2, the top and bottom arms 13 arein the form of fiat bar-like members and the top and bottom walls 17 and18 of the hood form continuations of said arms. As most clearly shown inFigures 1 and 2, the top wall 17 is shorter than the side walls 1G andis inclined downwardly and forwardly of the yoke. The bottom wall 18 hasthe major portion thereof in substantial alignment with the bottom arm13, the outer end portion of said wall being upwardly offset to providea horizontally disposed supporting ledge 19 for the coupler shank. As

shown in Figures 1 and 2, the ledge 19 rojects forwardly beyond the sidewalls 16 of the hood and presents a relatively large` supporting surfacefor the coupler shank. The main portion of the bottom wall 1S isprovided with an opstanding central rib or web 20 which extendsrearwardly from the ledge 19 and has the upper edge face thereof insubstantial alignment with the upper surface of the ledge. As shown inFigures 1 and 2, the rib 20 extends substantially to the inner end ofthe hood. As will be evident, the ledge and rib 2() together form acontinuous supporting and guide means for the bottom side of the couplershank for the major portion of the len h of said shank.

he side walls 16 of the hood are provided with aligned key receivingslots or openings 21-21 which accommodate the opposite ends of thecoupler key 12. The slots 21are reinforced by flanges 22 at the outersides of the side walls. The reinforcing flanges 22 are of greatestwidth at the front ends of the slots, thereby providing sullicient metalin the side wallsiof they hoodto withstand the strains to which the hoodis subjected during outward ordi-aft movement of the coupler.

The yokeis supported between the draft sills of the under-framestructure of the car in the usual well known manner, by a saddie plateintermediate the ends of the yoke engaging the bottom arm V13 and acarry iron engaging the under side of the wall 18 to support and guidethe front end" of the yoke. The ledge 19 is preferably provided with twodepending, spaced, longitudinally disposed ribs or webs 23-23 whichextend forwardly from the bottom wall 18 andA have their lower edgefaces in ali gnment with and forming a continuation ofthe under surfaireof the main portion of the wall 18. The parts are so proportioned thatthe guide surface defined by the u per face of the l 19 and the upper ege of the rib 20. an the guide surface defined by the under face of thebottom wall 18 and the lower edges of the guide ribs 23, are spaced sucha distance apart vertically as to support the coupler shank of astandard sized coupler the proper distance above the carry iron toassure alignment of the couplers of adjacent cars and alignment of thecouplerl shank with the shock absorbing mechanism. As most clearly shownin Figure 1, the connecting portion of the bottom wall, between theledge 19 and the main portion of said wall, is preferably inclined andthe outer edges of the ribs 23 are cut away on a. corre.` ndinginclination.

he specific type of yoke yillustrated in the drawings is adapted for usein connectionwith a railway draft rigging, wherein the coupler haslonger travel in buff than in draft and wherein a follower of s )ecialdesign is employed in connection wit the shock absorbing mechanism; thefollower, which is shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 and indicated by24, has projections at the front and rear sides thereof, which engagerespectively the inner end of the coupler shank and the wedge of thefriction shock absorbing mechanism, the wedge being shown in dottedlines in the drawings and indicated by 25, the wedge cooperating withthe usual friction shoes of the friction means. By providing theprojection at the front side of the follower, the use of a couplerhaving a shank of stamlard over-all len h is permitted.

hre top wall 17 of the hood has the front edge Ythereof inwardly offsetwith respect to the side walls so as to clear certain obstructions ofthe car underframe structure and permit the necessary outward movementof the yoke during a draft action. The side walls 16 of the yoke divergeoutwardly at the forward ends, as indicated at E2G-26. so as topermitthe necessary lateral pivotal movement of the coupler shank when carsare operated on curved track.

While I have herein shown and described what I consider the preferredmanner of carrying out my invention, the same is merely illustrative andI contemplate all changes and modifications which oome within the scopeof the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a oke, the combination with a strap portion adapted to enclose a.shock absorbing mechanism; of a hood member at one end of the yoke,adapted to receive the shank of a coupler, said hood member beingdefined by spaced top and bottom walls and s i aced side walls, saidside walls being provided with alined coupl'er key receiving slots; anda sup porting ledge at the outer end of the hood forwardly of the slots`of said side walls, and offset upwardly with respect to the main portionof said bottom wall, said bottom wall iaving an upstanding guide ribhaving the upper edge thereof flush with the upper surface of saidledge.

2..A yoke having a hooded end adapted tio receive the shank of acoupler. said hooded end having a bottom wall and a ledge at the outerend portion of the hood disposed in a plane above said bot-tom wallA`said bottom wall having an upstanding guide rib, the upper edge of whichflush with the upper face of the ledge, said ledge and rib formingsupporting guide means for the coupler shank, said ledge haring adepemling rib extending lengthwise of the yoke and having the lower edgeflush with the under surface of the bottom wall and forming with saidbottom wall a supporting and guiding means cooperating with supportingmeans of the car underframe structure.

3, In a yoke, the combination with spaced, longitudinally extending topand bottom arms connected by an integral section at one end; of a hoodat the other end, having spaced top and bottom walls and spaced sideWalls, said top wall forming a continuation of the top arm and beingshorter than the side walls, said side walls being provided with alignedcoupler key receiving openings, said bot-tom wall being a continuationof said bottom arm and having the outer end portion thereof offset withrespectto the main portion and disposed in a plane above said mainportion to provide a supporting shelf for the coupler shank, said shelfprojecting forwardly beyond said side walls; a supporting rib for saidcoupler shank up standing from said main portion of the bottom wall,extending rearwardly from said shelf and having the top edge inalignment with the upper surface of the shelf; and depending rib memberson said offset shelf extending forwardly from the main portion of saidbottom Wall and having the lower edge faces thereof in alignment withthe under surface of said bottom wall.

4. A yoke having a hooded end adapted to receive the shank of a coupler,said hooded end having a bottom wall and a ledge at the outer endportion of the hood disposed above said bottom wall, said bottom Wallhaving a raised portion extending rearwardly from the ledge, the upperedge of said raised portion being in alignment with the upper face ofthe ledge, said ledge having a depending enlargement extendinglengthwise of the yoke and having the lower edge face thereof alignedwith the under surface of said bottom wall.

5. A yoke having a hooded end adapted to receive the shank of thecoupler, said hooded end having a bottom wall, the outer end portion ofwhich is raised with respect to the remainder of said wall to providesupporting means for the coupler shank presenting a flat supportingsurface, said wall having additional supporting means for the couplershank rearwardly of said raised portion projecting from said wall andhaving a supporting surface in alinement with the flat supportingsurface of said means, said raised wall portion having depending guidemeans thereon in alinement with the underneath surfaces of saidremainder of the bottom Wall.'

6. In a yoke for railway draft riggings, including draft sills andyoke-supporting means secured to the sills, the combination with a hoodmember at one end of the yoke adapted to receive the shank of a couplermember, said hood member having a bottom wall provided with a raisedledge portion at one end thereof adapted to support the coupler shank;additional supporting means for the coupler shank on said wall inward-

